The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1991-07-31

              Earlier ruling upheld in court
By Susan Hamre
Staff Writer
U.S. District Judge Harry
MacLaughlin, in a July 18 Court
decision, upheld an earlier decision
by the Court denying the Red Lake
Band of Chippewa Indians tide to
59.25 acres of land bordering the
Rainy River.
Judge MacLaughlin ruled
that the plaintiff's motion for
amendment of judgment is
denied.
In the written discussion filed
with the decision. Judge
MacLaughlin stated that in its
original judgment, filed June 3, the
Court found that whatever interest
plaintiff possessed in the lands at
issue was extinguished by the Act
of April 13,1938, which imposed a
flowage easement upon "all lands
bordering on Rainy River, ceded
and relinquished to the United
States by the Chippewa Indians
pursuant to the (Nelson) Act, and
still owned by the United States, up
to elevation one thousand and
sixty-four sea- level datum."
Following the June 3 decision,
attorney for the Band; Marvin J.
Sonosky, of Chambers, Sonosky &
Sachse of Washington, D.C;
motioned for the Court to
reconsider. Plaintiffs argued that
the lands above elevation 1,064
were not extinguished by the 1938
(Nelson Act) as the Court had so
ruled.
The Court disagreed with the
plaintiff, however, that a 1936 letter
from the Army Corps of Engineers
proved the Band's rights to
Government Lots 3 and 4 had not
been extinguished, arguing that die
letter "makes clear that the 1938 Act
intended to extinguish the Indians'
rights in lands affected by the
easement, whether above or below
elevation 1,064."
The original suit was brought
against the City of Baudette, State of
Minnesota, Minnkota Power Co.,
the Minnesota and Manitoba
Railroad, and a number of small
businesses residing on Government
Lots 3 and 4. The Band sought quiet
Ruling/ see page 2
37 percent of Business Loans in default
By Susan Hamre
Staff Writer
In the July 3 News, we reported on
the number of Indian Business
Development loans issued by the
Indian Affairs Council since 1981.
A total of 71 loans had been issued
by the I AC with five of the loans
already paid. Also in FY90 and
FY91, $383,783 in loans were
approved by the IAC.
We attempted to report the status
of the remaining loans, but the
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council
submitted the request to the
Minnesota Attorney General's
Office for advice. Since that time,
pursuant to the Minnesota Data
Practices Act, we have received
records from the IAC office.
The following is a summary of the
status of the loans issued by IAC since
1981. For individual loan information,
see chart on page 8.
In the past decade, the program
loaned over $1 million to Indian
business development. Of that
amount only 9.1 percent ($97,031)
has been paid in full, while new loans
total $70,857. The amount still owed
by those current in their payments is
$256,483. Those listed as "paying" in
the IAC report owe $27,597.
Roughly 37 percent of the total
monies lent ($387,918) may not be
recovered since the recipients have
either gone out of business, declared
bankruptcy, been foreclosed on, or
are delinquent in their payments.
At least six businesses have been sold
and the status of the original loans was
not listed in the IAC Business Loan
Report In some cases, agreements have
been worked out between the IAC and
businesses involved.
According to Charlotte White of the
Indian Affairs Council, these
agreements are all approved by the
Attorney General's Office. "Because
these loans are made at great risk,
sometimes people are making
interest-only payments or those kinds
of things, or they're maybe
delinquent and maybe they've
agreed to make lower payments,"
White said. The amount owed under
such agreements is $51,867.
The loan program, initiated in 1973
as a means of encouraging economic
development, is funded from the 25
cents per acre taxation of severed
mineral interests held by individuals,
corporations, and organizations in
Minnesota. Eligible applicants to the
program must be at least one-quarter
Indian and be enrolled with a
Minnesota band or tribe. The
amounts available as of July 15, vary
according to reservations, see page 4
for a chart. For more information
contact the tribal council where the
applicant is enrolled, or Charlotte M.
White of the Indian Affairs Council,
1819 Bemidji, Minn. 56601 (218)
755-3825.
M*T< ..
•of tlTMSt   v^ndlslnLira£*.*><=
ZZD
27 arrested at White Earth
White Earth, Minn.(AP) -
Twenty-seven people were arrested
Monday after they refused to leave
White Earth tribal headquarters during
a protest over charges of election
fraud.
More than 30 Becker County law
enforcement officers surrounded tribal
headquarters at 4:25 p.m. and asked
protesters to vacate the building or
face arrest. Thirty minutes later,
officers forced open the doors and
began calmly arresting the protesters,
who were sitting in a circle just inside
the glass doors.
At least 100 other tribal members
remained outside the building during
the arrests. Protest leader Marvin
Manypenny said they would try to
occupy tribal headquarters again today
to force more arrests.
The strategy, some protesters said, is
to make their arrest so expensive that
authorities cannot ignore their calls for
an investigation.
"We'll be back," Manypenny yelled
at officers as they formed a line in
front of the building as protesters were
brought out. "We ain't going to stop.
We're going to run your bill up so
high, man."
Tribal authorities had vacated the
building when officers arrived. Becker
County Sheriff Clarence Paurus said
he didn't know whether tribal officials
planned to open tribal headquarters
this morning.
The protesters had gathered outside
tribal headquarters since noon Friday.
They refused to leave the building
Fifty Cents
Founded in 1988
Volume 4 Issue 2
July 31,1991
1
e Copyright, the Ojibwe News, 1991
White Earth
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601
A Bi-Monthly Publication
members call for reform
Jim Ortiz    Staff Writer
Boise-Cascade exceeds dioxin limit
International Falls, Minn. (AP)- The Boise-Cascade paper-milling
operation in International Falls, Minn., recently reported that it had
discharged excessive dioxin into the Rainy River. The Boise facility
operates under a 1985 permit that allows 10 parts per quadrillion (ppq) of
the toxic chemical dioxin, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said last
Tuesday, but the monthly sample of the company's discharge into the river
in March contained 22 ppq. The April sample contained 15 ppq. Boise and
the MPCA have been negotiating an agreement to address violations of
other parts of the facility's permit. Penalties for the two dioxin violations
will be considered in the discussions, the agency said. A new Boise permit
is being drawn up by agency staff that would reduce the dioxin limit to 3.7
ppq. Dioxins are a man-made product. One of the ways they are created is
through the use of chlorine to bleach paper, the MPCA said.
Becker man faces assault sentence
Detroit Lakes, Minn. - A Becker county man will be sentenced for a
shooting during a chase last fall on the White Earth Indian Reservation.
A Becker County jury last week found James Granboise, 46, guilty of
second-degree assault. According to testimony during a four-day trial,
Granboise on Sept. 23 fired a pistol at Dave Hanks of White Earth,
Minn., on a rural reservation road. The shooting followed an argument
the men had at a nearby residence. No one was struck by the bullet,
although Hanks was injured by flying glass from his automobile.
Granboise's attorney, Bruce Ringstrom of Moorhead, had argued that
his client was acting in self-defense. Hanks testified that Granboise
started the altercation. Minnesota 7th District Judge William Walker
delayed sentencing pending the findings of a presentence investigation.
MHHWRA will meet August 10
Frank Bibeau, President, announced a pre-season meeting of the
Minnesota Hand-Harvested Wild Rice Association, on August 10 at 6
p.m. in Bena. Two promotional events are being planned. The first is
the international food writers' tour, called the "1991 Wild Rice Tour".
The three-day tour will begin in White Earth on August 19 and end at
the Minnesota State Fair. The tentative itinerary includes a cooking
demonstration, tentatively scheduled for August 20, at Itasca State Park
for the 20-plus writers. 6-8 traditional dishes that are easy for the
average person to prepare (for example, maple syrup on rice, puffed
rice, bacon drippings, or just butter with salt and pepper ) will be
selected by the Association for the demonstration. Recipe ideas should
be brought to the August-10 meeting.
The second event planned is the "Two Rivers Cultural Explosion",
which is the combination of the American Indian Movement's annual
pow wow and the river festival. The festival will be held at Snelling
State Park over the Labor Day weekend. 50,000 people are expected to
attend (see article op page 10.
Grants awarded to support water projects
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded three grants
to support area water pollution control programs: the Mille Lacs Band
was awarded $92,000, the Red Lake Band was awarded $60,000, and
the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council was awarded $54,175.
New Service Unit Director in Cass Lake
Lieutenant Commander Luella M. Brown will be detailed as Acting
Service Unit Director in the Cass Lake Service unit, effective August 1,
1991. She is a White Earth enrollee who is currently the Director of
Nurses in Cass Lake. She has held various positions within the IHS. Lt.
Brown received her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing at the College of St.
Scholastic in Dultuth in 1976.
Jim Aitken suspended for five days
rJflifi Aitkin, scholarship officer for the state's Indian Education
programs, was suspended five days for reasons unknown, according to
anonymous sources. David Beaulieu, then-director of Indian Education
programs, suspended Aitken two weeks ago before leaving the
department to serve as acting Commissioner of Human Rights. Beaulieu
was appointed as acting commissioner by Gov. Ame Carlson July 9.
Jim Sodder, from the Department of Education, said he could not
comment on the Aitken matter "That's all a part of the Data Privacy
Act, and I've been informed that I can't say anything more than that,
I'm sorry," Sodder said. The News is requesting information on the
suspension, which is now a closed disciplinary action, from the
Department of Education.
Red Lake Fisheries election held
The election held July 20th resulted in the election of Billy May with 165
votes, Rudy Johnson with 113 votes, Frank Hill with 110 votes, Phillip
Johns with 109 votes, and Myron Kingbird with 102 votes. Delwyn
Hothusen, who also had 102 votes, withdrew from contention stating
Myron Kingbird had new ideas and would make a better board member.
Marlene Hanson was named Manager at a meeting of the new board.
On Tuesday, July 23, 1991, a
group of White Earth Ojibwe tribal
members called for a press
conference at the White Earth tribal
offices. Irma Vizenor read the press
release calling for unity and "to
/\rr©ST©Q/ See page 2   begin the process of correcting the
years of wrongs and crimes
committed against us by our tribal
government leaders." Further calling
the tribal government "a dictatorship
that is abusive, corrupt, and
unresponsive." The group claimed
fraudulent elections, misuse of tribal
funds and services, squandering
away the land, the constant erosion
of treaty rights and gross violations
of civil and human rights.
The group stated they were a
frustrated people who have
exhausted sources seeking aid.
Agencies such as the Bureau of
Indian Affairs; the U.S. Inspector
General; the U.S. Justice
Department; the Federal Bureau of
Investigation; the Human Rights
Commission, churches, congressmen
and other policymakers. Some
agencies have told them that the
abuse and wrongdoings they suffer
are internal tribal matters.
It was reported in the Grand Forks
Herald that Minnesota U.S. Attorney
Jerry Arnold said Tuesday that his
office was discussing the White
Earth case with federal officials at
the Department of Justice in
Washington, D.C. "Even if the
allegations are true, we're looking at
whether or not there are federal
statutes to rectify the situation or
bring criminal charges," Arnold said.
"If the answer is that no federal
statutes have been broken, or there's
not jurisdiction, it may well be that
we're powerless to act at this time."
The group also voiced concerns
about recent accusations of
organized crime in connection with
the new 10 million dollar gambling
casino planned for Mahnomen.
"There are," she continued," greedy
lawyers and politicians running
tribal affairs and our people continue
to suffer from high unemployment,
the poorest health care and
education in the nation, and rampant
chemical dependency."
After the press release, the group
answered questions from the news
media that were present. Supporting
their press release and allegations,
Lowell Bellanger commented, "the
system should be changed. There is
no participation from the people."
Marvin Manypenny stated if the
accusations by the media are
innuendo, or whatever you might
call it, then why don't they take
action against them. Referring to
RefOim/ see page 12
Irma Vizenor (center) reads press release in front or HTC in White
Earth on Tuesday, July 23 while concerned tribal members listen
in the background. See related story above.
Treaty Rights are being contested in Clearwater County Court by Albert
Bellecourt. Pictured from left to right are Peter Euriander, Bellecourt,
and M. Guy Ross. See story below.
Bellecourt case contests Treaty Rights
Jim Ortiz
Staff Writer
On July 18, 1991, Albert
Bellecourt, a White Earth enrollee,
appeared in Clearwater County
Court before Judge Godell.
Bellecourt is facing charges of
operating an unregistered watercraft
and having no name or address on
minnow traps. Two other charges
against Bellecourt were dropped.
The Department of Natural
Resources had received complaints
from licensed minnow dealers that
there was illegal activity concerning
leeching in ponds north east of Cox
Lake (section # 15). The area is
located in the mid-eastern portion of
the original White Earth
Reservation.
The treaty of 1867 established the
837,120 acre White Earth
Reservation to consolidate - relocate
is more accurate - all Ojibwe in
Minnesota. Then, in 1885, a group
of settlers in the Red River Valley
in Minnesota (which adjoined the
White Earth Reservation) adopted a
resolution demanding the opening of
the reservation to settlers. This was
the beginning of the push by settlers
and timber companies to open the
reservation to non-Indians.
Currently, land within the White
Earth Reservation is owned by the
White Earth Nation, the U.S.
government, and private individuals
or companies.
The State contends that the
northern part of the pond in which
Bellecourt was leeching is U.S.
property. However, Bellecourt was
not checking leech traps on the small
area of the pond; he was on the
larger portion, which belongs to
Potlatch. Furthermore, the State
contends that the White Earth
Reservation gave up hunting, fishing
and gathering rights in the ceded
townships.
Bellecourt, 52, is being
represented by M. Guy Ross and
Peter Euriander of the William
Mitchell School of Law in
Minneapolis..
When asked about this case and
its implications, Euriander
responded, "Wisconsin tribes have
been exercising their hunting,
fishing and gathering rights for the
past several years. "The reason that's
been happening is that the courts
interpreted a treaty from 1837 and a
treaty from 1854 that said that those
rights to hunt and gather are still
valid. And about two months ago, a
federal court in Minnesota said that
the 1854 treaty also covered some
land in Minnesota. So the same
rights that existed in the Arrowhead
(region) essentially (exist) with the
Bois Forte, and Grand Portage and
Fond du Lac (Bands) but those three
Bands agreed with the state of
Minnesota to give up their hunting
and fishing rights in exchange for
payment. But the same treaty that set
up the hunting and fishing rights for
Bois Forte and Grand Portage and
Fond du Lac in the Arrowhead
region also refers to the Ojibwe west
of that line."
Euriander also said, "The courts
have already interpreted that 1854
treaty meaning that the hunting and
fishing rights that the bands had
before the treaty are still in effect.
So that's why the Bands in
Wisconsin are able to spear fish. It's
also why the Tri-Band Agreement
was negotiated by the state of
Minnesota because those hunting
and fishing rights were recognized
in the 1854 treaty ... But in the
same treaty. . . it sets up a dividing
line between the Lake Superior
Chippewa, which are east of the
1854 line, and the Mississippi
Chippewa, who are west of the 1854
line. And in the treaty itself it says
that the Chippewa east of the line -
Bois Forte and Grand Portage and
Fond du Lac - give up their claims
to the land they held in common
with the Ojibwe west of that line ...
because the bands that were on
ceded land retained their rights . . .
.The bands west of that line must
have retained their rights,too,
because it was recognized in that
treaty that they had those rights . . .
the treaties or any of the things in
the U.S. government statutes
involving Minnesota . . . There's
nothing that's ever taken those rights
away. So the Ojibwe people in
Minnesota, according to the treaties,
Treaty/ see page 2
Boise Cascade marks official opening of new plant
Boise Cascade Corporation
will mark the official opening
of its $535 million paper
machine expansion Aug. 2 and
3 in International Falls.
The public is invited to a
dedication program, tour and
lunch, Friday, Aug.2. A short
ceremony and presentation will
begin at 9:30 a.m.
Following the program,
guests will be invited to tour
the plant anytime between 11 a.m.
and 4 p.m. A free community
picnic and lunch for the entire
family will be served from 11
a.m. - 2 p.m. in Smokey Bear
Park, compliments of the
Chamber of Commerce. Sky
divers from Minnesota Power
will perform at noon.
Plant tours will also be offered
_from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on
Saturday. People should stop by
the first aid/safety tent and the
Boise Cascade paper products tent
set up in Smokey Bear Park both
Friday and Saturday.
As a gift to the community,
Boise will make a contribution to
area charitable organizations on
behalf of all those who tour the
plant.
"We wanted to take this
opportunity to mark the
completion of the modernization
of our plant and to note that this is
the largest investment from any
business in the state to date," said
Lowe. "We also want to invite our
families, neighbors and friends to
celebrate the successful
completion of this project, and
thank them for their support."